Speaking ahead of "al-Quds Day," which will be marked in Iran on Friday, Khamenei said "…the light of hope will shine on the Palestinian
issue, and this Islamic land will certainly be returned to the Palestinian nation, and the superfluous and fake Zionist (regime) will disappear from the landscape."

The supreme leader accused the "Zionists and their supporters" of trying to cause the world to forget the Palestinian issue.

"With god's help, this year as well the Iranian nation will punch the faces of the enemies of Islam
on al-Quds Day," Khamenei was quoted as saying during a meeting with veterans of the Iran-Iraq
War.

On al-Quds Day, millions of Shiites around the world rally in support of the Palestinians. "The Palestinian issue is not a tactical issue for us, but an (important) Islamic principle," the supreme leader added. "We want to save this Islamic state from the oppressive Zionist fingernails."

Earlier on Wednesday, an Iranian defense official said Israel must be destroyed.

Gholam Reza Jalali, who heads an Iranian military unit in charge of fighting sabotage, said that al-Quds Day "is an expression of the fact that there is no other way but to stand firm and resist until Israel is destroyed."